Justice Boosts the Building of Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism
-- Speech at the 2016 Colloquium of the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union
TAO Kaiyuan, Justice & Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court, P. R. China
October 21st, 2016
Honorable Chairwoman Susan Denham,
Honorable President Carlos,
Honorable Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union,
Dear friends and colleagues,
Thanks a lot for the very kind invitationMy colleagues and I take it as a great honor to have the opportunity to meet all of you in this golden autumn season in the beautiful country of Spain. First of all, on behalf of the Supreme People’s Court of China and the Chief Justice & President Zhou Qiang, I』d like to express our sincere greetings and best wishes to all of you and we do wish this conference a complete success.
China, EU and EU member states have a long history of legal and judicial exchange and cooperation and have achieved fruitful results. Colleagues of Chinese courts and EU member states』 courts are bonded by sincere friendship and have reached many consensuses. We expect that both sides will launch more in-depth exchange and cooperation in more extensive areas. We also sincerely welcome all of you to China to experience the progress and achievements in legal construction and judicial reform.
Here, I would like to introduce the developments of ADR in China and the contribution to this system made by Chinese courts on the topic of 「Justice Boosts the Building of Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism」.
"Harmony is the most essential part of ritual applications". This traditional Chinese thinking conceived Chinese mediation system, which revived itself in the new era.
China has incorporated the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism into the strategy of "modernization of national governance system and governance capability". Basically, it has formed an Alternative dispute resolution system, under which people's mediation, administrative mediation, industry mediation, commercial mediation, arbitration, administrative review, administrative adjudication and litigation connect and coordinate with one another. At present, there are 3.91 million people's mediators from 790,000 people's mediation committees in China. In 2015, they resolved 9.33 million disputes. Local labor and personnel dispute mediation organizations and arbitration institutions resolved more than 1.72 million disputes. In addition, more than 40,000 people's mediators from 251 commercial arbitration institutions accepted nearly 137, 000ases last year.
Since the launch of judicial reform in the past decade, Chinese courts have been dedicated to integrating traditional "harmony" culture into the construction of modern legal system, facilitating effective connection between litigation and non-litigation dispute resolution mechanisms, and actively boosting the development and integration of resolution resources such as mediation and arbitration. In recent years, Chinese courts have mainly taken the following measures in supporting the development of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration:
I. Establishing "Litigation and Mediation" Connecting Platform within Courts
With the active efforts of the Supreme People’s Court, currently 3,498 Chinese courts which accounting for 98.9% courts at all levels have established litigation service centers, "Connecting litigation and mediation" is an important function of such centers, meanwhile, they guide the parties concerned, divert cases, train mediators, and administer dispute cases.
II. Establishing the Specially Invited Mediation System of Courts
The specially invited mediation system of Chinese courts was established with reference to the court-annexed mediation system of foreign courts combined with the situation of Chinese courts. In 2015, all courts incorporated a total of 32,912 specially invited mediation organizations with 104,516 special mediators that resolved a large amount of disputes filed by courts through mediation. The main contents of this system are as below:
First, establish the rosters for special mediation organizations or mediators. Courts communicate with external dispute resolution resources through the rosters and administer on the rosters. Parties concerned may voluntarily subject their disputes to special mediation and select mediation organizations or mediators from the rosters.
Second, set up a regulated special mediation procedure. The court may delegate mediators from the rosters to mediate any case that has been submitted but not registered and filed. If succeeded, the parties concerned may apply for judicial confirmation of the mediation agreement. The court may also entrust mediators from the rosters to mediate any case that has been filed. If succeeded, the judge will issue the mediation document after examination of the mediation agreement.
III. Recognizing and Granting Legal Effect and Enforceability to Mediation Agreement
The judicial confirmation of mediation agreement is a new system to support the non-litigation mediation mechanism and a hallmark of the Chinese mediation system. In 2012, the amended Civil Procedure Law of the P.R.C. specifically provides for the special procedure of judicial confirmation of mediation agreement. Upon the agreement on dispute between the parties concerned after mediation by a mediation organization, either party may apply to a grass-roots people's court for confirming its effect. If it complies with laws as reviewed by the court, the mediation agreement will have enforceability after being confirmed by the court. The judicial confirmation system is the key to the connection between litigation and non-litigation mediation. From January to August 2016, Chinese courts have handled more than 65,000 judicial confirmation cases. The judicial guarantee of non-litigation mediation greatly improved the development of non-litigation mediation.
IV. Supporting the Reform of Arbitration System
In 2015, the Supreme People’s Court issued the Interpretation on the Application of the 'Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China' to support the arbitration awards strongly. For example, in order to adapt to the international trend from substantial review to procedural review, we deleted two circumstances under which arbitration awards will not be enforced due to insufficient main evidence to ascertain facts and wrong application of laws. By doing so, we give more authority to arbitration. Recently, the Supreme People’s Court issued four judicial interpretations or documents concerning judicial review of arbitration, including coordination of jurisdiction conflict between arbitration tribunals and courts, and recognition of foreign provisional arbitration awards, etc. Meanwhile, in the opinions on providing judicial guarantee for the "Belt and Road" Initiative, the Supreme People’s Court emphasized its recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards of countries along the "Belt and Road". In 2015, the people's courts at all levels enforced a total of 191,489 arbitration awards.
V. Boosting International Development of Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism
Chinese courts are striving to create an international, outgoing, and cooperative alternative dispute resolution system. We will strengthen cooperation and exchange with international and interregional mediation organizations, arbitration institutions, and judicial authorities, constantly satisfy the diversified judicial needs of the parties concerned from China and abroad, and fully respect their voluntary selection by taking into account such factors as politics, laws, and culture of their countries, while supporting them in resolving disputes by non-litigation means such as mediation and arbitration.
Meanwhile, Chinese courts has been paid great attention to the application of new scientific and technological achievements and striving to build "smart courts". We are endeavoring to explore the integrated information platform of online mediation, filing, judicial confirmation, adjudication, supervision procedure, and service, and create an online dispute resolution system that is jointly constructed and shared, open, inclusive and innovation-driven with its resources being interconnected, in an effort to promote the cross integration of various dispute resolution mechanisms, including mediation and arbitration, and modernize traditional means of dispute resolution.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends and colleagues,
The alternative dispute resolution mechanism not only coincides with the traditional Chinese philosophy of 「using mediation instead of litigation to solve disputes in a harmonious society ", but also complies with the global trend of legal thinking. I hope we will strengthen exchange, share experience, and actively meet and answer the challenges. In addition, we should promote the development of alternative dispute resolution mechanism, enable more disputes to be resolved with rationality, through consultation and dialogues, and in a win-win way.
Thank you.
尊敬的蘇珊·丹瀚姆主席，尊敬的卡洛斯·萊斯邁斯院長，尊敬的歐盟各國最高法院院長，各位朋友、各位同仁：
非常感謝會議的盛情邀請，我和我的同事們能有機會在美好的金秋時節與各位朋友和同仁相聚在美麗的西班牙，深感榮幸。首先，請允許我代表中國最高人民法院和首席大法官周強院長，向各位表達最真誠的問候和最美好的祝福，並祝願會議取得圓滿成功！
中國與歐盟和歐盟各國的法律與司法交流合作源遠流長、富有成效，中國法院與歐盟和歐盟各國法院的同行之間友誼真摯、共識頗多。我們期待，雙方將來能在更廣泛的領域有更深入的交流與合作，也真誠歡迎各位到中國實地考察中國法治建設和司法改革的進展和成果。
下面，我以「司法推進多元化糾紛解決機制建設」為題介紹一下多元化糾紛解決機制在中國發展的情況及中國法院為此制度所作出的貢獻。
「禮之用，和為貴」的中華傳統思想孕育了中國的調解制度。在新時期，中國的調解制度煥發了新的活力。
中國將多元化糾紛解決機制納入「國家治理體系和治理能力現代化」的戰略之中，已經基本形成以人民調解、行政調解、行業調解、商事調解、仲裁、行政複議、行政裁決、訴訟等有機銜接、相互配合的多元化糾紛解決體系。目前，中國有79萬人民調解委員會，391萬人民調解員，2015年化解933萬件糾紛；各地勞動人事爭議調解組織和仲裁機構共處理爭議172.1萬件；商事仲裁機構251個，4萬多仲裁員，去年受理案件136924件。
十餘年來，中國法院在司法改革過程中，致力於將傳統「和合」文化融入現代法制建設，促進訴訟與非訴訟糾紛解決機制的有效銜接，積極推動調解、仲裁等解紛資源的發展與整合。近年來，法院在支持調解、仲裁等替代性糾紛解決機制的發展等方面主要採取以下舉措：
在最高人民法院的積極推動下，目前，中國有3498個法院建立了訴訟服務中心，覆蓋率達98.9%，其中，「訴調對接」是這一機構的重要職能，承擔了對當事人進行輔導、分流案件、培訓調解人員、管理糾紛案件等職能。
中國法院建立的特邀調解制度是借鑑國外法院附設調解制度，結合中國法院具體情況建立。2015年全國各地法院共吸納特邀調解組織有32912 個，特邀調解員達104516人，使大量進入法院的糾紛通過調解化解。主要有以下內容：
一是明確法院開展特邀調解工作應當建立名冊。法院通過名冊制度與法院外的糾紛解決資源溝通聯絡，並對名冊進行規範化管理。當事人可以自願選擇特邀調解，並從名冊中挑選調解組織或者調解員解決糾紛。
二是設定規範的特邀調解程序。對於起訴到法院但尚未登記立案的案件，法院可以委派名冊內人員進行調解，調解成功，當事人可以申請對調解協議進行司法確認。法院受理案件之後，法院可以委託名冊內人員進行調解，調解成功，由法官審查調解協議後出具調解書。
調解協議的司法確認是中國建立的一項支持訴訟外調解機制的新制度，是中國調解制度的一大特色。2012年，《中華人民共和國民事訴訟法》修訂，專門規定了調解協議的司法確認特別程序。當事人之間的糾紛經調解組織調解達成協議後，雙方當事人可以向基層人民法院申請確認其效力，法院經審查認為符合法律規定的，予以確認後即獲得強制執行效力。司法確認制度打通了訴訟與訴訟外調解銜接的關鍵點。今年1-8月，全國法院共辦理司法確認案件65000多件，通過對訴訟外調解的司法保障，極大的推動了訴訟外調解的發展。
2015年，最高人民法院發布《關於適用<中華人民共和國民事訴訟法>的解釋》，通過司法解釋層面積極支持仲裁裁決。如為適應國際上對仲裁從實體審查到程序審查的過渡的潮流，將原民訴法中對於認定事實的主要證據不足和法律適用錯誤這兩種情形作為不予執行仲裁裁決的兩種情況刪除，賦予仲裁更大的權威。最近，最高人民法院出臺了四項關於仲裁司法審查的司法解釋或司法文件，包括仲裁庭和法院管轄權衝突的協調，境外臨時仲裁的承認等問題。同時，最高人民法院在為一帶一路戰略提供司法保障的意見中，強調了對沿線各國仲裁裁決的承認和執行。2015年，各級人民法院共執行仲裁裁決191489件，對仲裁裁決予以司法保障。
中國法院正在努力打造國際化、外向型、合作型的多元化糾紛解決體系。我們將加強與國際、區際調解組織、仲裁機構、司法機構的合作與交流，不斷滿足中外當事人的多元司法需求，充分尊重中外當事人基於其所在國政治、法律、文化等因素作出的自願選擇，支持其通過調解、仲裁等非訴訟方式解決糾紛。
與此同時，中國法院高度重視新科技成果的應用，努力建設「智慧法院」。我們正在努力探索在線調解、在線立案、在線司法確認、在線審判、電子督促程序、電子送達為一體的信息平臺，打造一個資源互通、共建共享、開放包容、創新驅動的在線糾紛解決體系，促進調解、仲裁、訴訟等各類糾紛解決機制的跨界融合，引領傳統糾紛解決方式向現代糾紛解決方式的「升級換代」。
女士們、先生們，朋友們，多元化糾紛解決機制契合中國傳統「和諧無訟，調處息爭」的理念，同時，也符合世界法治思想發展的潮流。希望我們更多地加強交流、分享經驗，積極應對面臨的挑戰，促進多元化糾紛解決機制的發展，讓更多的糾紛以平和理性、協商對話、合作共贏的方式解決。